My favorite subject of this semester.

The subject that I liked the most this semester was the elective "Geography and gender: a view from feminism". I have many reasons to choose this subject as my favorite. First of all, it is the first time in the history of geography at the University of Chile that a course on gender and feminism has been taught, which has been a winner of the last mobilizations. Secondly, the professor who teaches this subject is a geographer from the same university who specializes in gender issues. He is transgender and has done a lot of interesting research and studies. Besides, as a teacher he is excellent and his classes are not like the ordinary classes. Now I will explain why:

From the beginning, the teacher organizes us in a different way, creates a circle with the tables and we all see each other with everyone. This brings us closer to each other and to him, leaving hierarchical organizations behind. He explains the content of that class as we all intervene and in the end there is always a debate about it. For all the classes he leaves us a reading so that we can comment on it and debate it, which is why super interesting and knowledge-rich discussions have been formed. 

The topics we have seen in classes include an anti-colonial perspective of feminism, and we have studied the different waves of feminism, the organization before feminism existed, the emergence of feminism, history, masculinities and different authors that we have read in the course, analyzed and made their corresponding criticisms.

Recognizing birds

http://www.buscaves.cl/

This is a website dedicated to the recognition or discovery of native or endemic birds of Chile. When you walk around and see a bird and want to know its name and characteristics, you can describe it on this website in the "identify your bird" section and find out what type of bird it belongs to. You can describe it through the shape, the colors of its fur, the legs, the shape of the beak, the size of the bird, the place where it was seen and its habitat. Also, in the "search" section you can know the complete characteristics of the bird you want. And not only that, this website is so great that it also has a section of games like the "memorize", the "puzzle" or the "hanging" that allow you to learn about birds in a fun way.

I access this website whenever I want to know information about a specific bird or when I see a bird anywhere I can't recognize it.

I like the web site because it is useful for this specific area of my career that is biogeography, since it is difficult to know the characteristics of all the endemic and native birds of Chile or to be able to recognize them all when we walk in terrains; therefore, with this web site I can have that information at any time. I also like it because it's not only an academic site but also helps you learn while having fun and getting distracted.

The personal is also political

I think I'm a too passionate person to choose just one thing I'm most passionate about, but I'm going to embed all my passions in one thing: politics.

First of all I want to clarify that when I speak of "politics" I don't mean political parties, but for me everything you do in life is political, all the decisions you make are political decisions (good and bad). So, I can say that politics is my greatest passion, because I grew up with it, I grew up with it and it has made me the person I am. 

I started working in politics when I was 16 years old, for the mobilizations of 2011. I was studying in a private subsidized school with a rather precarious education. In that year we occupied the school and began a long period of mobilizations. After a short time I became the spokeswoman for this occupation and then we formed a communal cordon with the other schools mobilized in the commune. I went through many things and from there I didn't stop anymore. 

When I entered the USACH, I began get involved in a political organization in which I spent four years. In addition, I spent two years at the student center of my ex-career, first as a secretary and then as president. In the last year I was also elected as a faculty advisor; but beyond the public offices I have held, I have worked on a lot of things that have made me a political person.

Through volunteer work in a community in Tirúa, I established permanent links with communities in resistance and have worked with them to this day. I also worked on human rights issues, giving talks in high schools and helping fellow prisoners. 

Finally, politics is all I do, from when I get up to when I fall asleep. Every decision I make is political, because I'm always thinking about how that decision is going to contribute and not harm my people.

My favorite picture

Hi

I chose this as my favorite photograph for one simple reason: it represents what I most enjoy doing in the life, photographing and traveling.

Ever since I was a little girl, I've always liked artistic things. Between the ages of 14 and 16 I drew portraits in black and white. By my age, I think they were good portraits and people would ask me to make one for them when they saw them. At 16 I also bought myself a harmonica because I also really liked the music and the sound of the harmonica (especially in the blues) caused me something unspeakable. Before that I had a guitar and I went to guitar lessons. I also took different dance courses, from salsa to dancehall.

I always wanted to be a photographer, and I know that because I recently found old photos from 2012 that I took and I was impressed by how good those photos were. After finding them I started to publish them together with some of the photos I've taken now.

This is my favorite photograph because it has everything: a wonderful landscape, I'm photographing, mountains, altitude, a great friend who took that photograph, and the memory of a fabulous trip with great people. Finally, I like the trips because they represent a journey through your life, through your dreams.